I call him Blondie
by ily SAKU
Summary: Roxas caught Axel's eye from that day at the bus stop when he first saw him. Axel had disgusted Roxas since he had first caught the red head staring at him. This high school isn't big enough for the two of us! AkuRoku Yaoi! Mush! Cursing. Humor.
1. 1: Axel

**Chapter One: Axel **

Freshman year had been a breeze, it had passed by before anyone had even realized it was gone. The same had followed with Sophomore year. Now that he was a junior, Axel was preparing to buckle down. It was the time to make count as he prepared for the last two years that would lead him up into college. 

Today was the beginning of junior year, and already the pyro found himself worrying about what was to come as he stood at the bus stop. Everyone smelled like new clothes, and fresh pencils. That's the only information he could attain as he continued to gnaw on his lip as if nothing else mattered in the world. 

Finally, in an attempt to soothe himself he scanned the crowd standing with him at the bus stop. There were more Freshman than anything. He could vaguely remember when he was a Freshman. 

Near the edge of the crowd, a lively looking group caught his eyes. Obviously Freshman, they appeared to be eighth graders yet they were at the high school bus stop. Leaving only one option. 

The small group consisted of four people, two blondes, one red head, and one with brown hair. The two blondes caught his eye the most. One was male and the other female. 

The girl had platinum colored hair, compared to the males sandy blonde hair. Her eyes were a crystal colored blue and they were alive with laughter. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, and her mouth was clothed with a small smile. She had the appearance of an eighth grader, but she seemed mature. Her form was developing, an hour glass figure being the prediction of the near future. She wore a loose plain white t's shirt and dark washed jeans with ballet flats. 

As he payed attention to the young teen's conversation he learned that her name was Namine. Then there was her companion. The sandy blonde male standing beside her. 

He to had blue eyes, darker than Namine's. He had the appearance of a skater. Wearing a loose jacket, shirt, and jeans; along with checker boarded vans slip ons. 

Still paying attention to the conversation, Axel learned that he answered to the name of Roxas. 

Roxas and Namine, they seemed close. As he watched them, biting his lip as he did so, Axel pulled his lips into a small smile. 

Roxas took notice to this, and shot the red head a glare. 

"What in the hell are you looking at?" He growled crossly. This sudden invasion of voice made the red head jump. He pointed to himself, thinking that perhaps Roxas had been referring to someone else. Roxas disproved this thought as he nodded. 

"Yeah you, bastard! What are you some kind of pedophile?" 

Axel released a nonchalant laugh. 'Kitty has claws.' He thought to himself as he stepped towards the group, long legs permitting him to reach them with only two steps. "Pedophile, me? No. Oh no. I'm a sadist." He answered with a large smirk. Roxas' expression contorted into one of horror. 

"Really?" The blonde choked, taking a step backwards. This caused Axel to smirk. 

"No. I'm just a bored junior, staring at the newbies in search of some amusement." He replied. Roxas scowled, crossing his arms as he continued to glare at the red head. 

Axel nonchalantly patted the blonde on the head, laughing as he did. "Now, now Blondie. No need to be so rude." He teased. This only caused Roxas to grow all the more angry. 

As if it was meant to save Axel, the rickety yellow death trap otherwise known as the bus rolled into the neighborhood. The small group of Freshman dispersed so as to escape the horror of the invading Axel.

The end of the day arrived faster than the red head would have expected for the first day, which usually moved slower than a sea of melted gremlins. Then again the teachers had spent most of the day going over all the rules and the dress code and what not for those few dull students who enjoyed emptying their brains over the summer. 

The bell rang, and the red head gathered up everything he had removed from his binder in last period. Cramming it back into the folder, Axel escaped the room before his teacher could say a single word to him. The teachers had a habit of bugging him, on account of Axel's father was the school principle. What more could he ask for? 

Skidding to a halt as he arrived in the bus loop, Axel scanned the buses parked at the curb til' he spotted his own. The bus was crowded, and only a few seats were left open. None were completely empty. Every seat was occupied by at least one person. Smiling, Axel wandered down the aisle a little ways before he plopped down beside a familiar sandy blonde freshman. 

"Hi there. Nice seeing you again." The red head said, pulling his lips back into one of his famous smirks. Roxas immediately scowled. "What do you want?" He questioned crossly, directing his gaze which had already hardened into a glare at the offending red head. Axel's face converted into a sad frown.

"I was just looking to be friends. I'm Axel." He announced, extending his hand in Roxas' direction. 

"Fuck off." Roxas grunted, turning from the pyro to glare at the seat in front of him. Axel pouted, but played along nonetheless. 

"Nice to meet you fuck off, that's a lovely name. What is it? English? Hebrew?" 

Axel's sudden smart ass comment resulted in a sudden pain stemming from his nose.

"Holy shit you punched me!" He exclaimed, clutching his nose. Roxas laughed. "Yeah, now fuck off. My father's a lawyer." Axel rolled his emerald colored eyes. "Yeah, well mines the principle. Don't do that again. Got it memorized?" 

Roxas gave Axel a spectacle look, as if questioning his motives before he scoffed and turned away again. "Yeah, sure." He said completely blowing the red head off. 

Reaching into his bag, Axel produced his ipod slipping the ear buds into his ears. This was going to be a long ride home. 


	2. 1: Roxas

**Chapter One: Roxas**

Roxas was not usually one to excel in school work, to tell the truth he had half expected to end up in Summer School or doing Eighth Grade all over again. Yet here he was, preparing himself to be dragged of to high school for the first time in his life.

He figured that most the Freshman here had the jitters, after all High School was a big change after Middle School. Roxas didn't appear to have any fear whatsoever though. It was just going to be more school. Bitchy teachers, more work than he could handle, barely making it by. What else was new?

The people crowding around him smelled like bad cologne or slutty perfume, their clothes were revealing and the blonde was disgusted. Thus explaining why he was taking refuge with Namine, Sora, and Kairi. 

Namine and Roxas had been together, since to put it bluntly, they were in diapers. Everyone had always imagined the two blondes getting together, due to the fact that they were so close. They had attempted a closer relationship once. It didn't go as everyone had expected though, because that was around the time that Roxas discovered he had no interest in Namine. Or any girl for that matter. Indeed, or blonde haired blue eyed fiend found himself to be gay. Or as Sora so blandly put it 'whoopee.' 

On this particularly glum morning, Roxas found himself deep in discussion with his friends about what they had done over summer break. On account of everyone but Sora, being the loser he was, had gone on vacation.

Namine had a lot of interesting information about her vacation to the Keyes. Including an interesting narrative about why one should never tamper with jelly fish. Of course, Roxas had more common sense then to do so. Unless he was extremely bored. 

As they continued conversing, Roxas felt a tingly feeling running down his spine. The kind of feeling you got when someone was releasing that 'creepy overbearing stalker vibe.' 

Turning to glance over his shoulder, Roxas caught sight of a particular red head who was giving him an odd look as if Roxas was some kind of food. 

Roxas' eyebrows furrowed as he glared at the red head. "What the hell are you looking at?" He questioned crossly, resisting the urge to approach the offending red head and punch him for even so much as casting his gaze his way. The red head in question pointed to himself, giving Roxas a stupid look as if he was some kind of retard. "Yeah you, bastard! What are you some kind of pedophile?" 

The red head shifted, appearing to laugh which ticked Roxas off further so that it was to the point that steam was nearly escaping his ears. And to make it worse, the red head took the moment to saunter up to Roxas trying to appear all innocent. Yeah right.

"Pedophile, me? No. Oh no, I'm just a sadist." A smirk coated the red head's lips, making it seem as if he was serious. 

"Really?" Roxas questioned, his expression turning to one of disgusted horror. His nose wrinkled, and he struggled to make himself back away. Roxas managed a step backwards, still looking at him the horror growing by the second. 

""No. I'm just a bored junior, staring at the newbies in search of some amusement." The red head finally managed to answer, causing Roxas's horror to diminish and anger to return. Roxas found himself crossing his arms, glaring at the red head for about the third time that morning. 

And to make it worse, the red head took the liberty of removing his hand from where it was shoved in his pocket with another laugh as he patted Roxas' head. 

"Now, now Blondie. No need to be so rude." 

The teenager's voice was a teasing one, as could easily be deciphered. It made Roxas want to bite his hand off. Much to Roxas' dismay, as he was about to slaughter the red head and use his entrails as new wall decorations, the bus came rolling into view and the red head escaped. 

"Lucky." Roxas mumbled, before he turned to Namine who was looking at him dumbstruck. 

"He was cute." Was all she could say before she scampered off to grab a seat on the bus. Roxas blinked. Cute? The farthest thing. 

The day passed quickly, as it usually did. As Roxas had predicted it was the same old same old. The teachers explained the rules, the dress code, the conduct, their curriculum. All of which Roxas would not listen to. Finally, as he was contemplating testing how far he could shove his hand into his mouth the bell rang. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Roxas jogged out of the classroom leaving Namine and Sora behind. 

Namine looked at Sora and shrugged before following after Roxas. 

When Namine stepped onto the bus, she immediately noticed the seat that Roxas had probably been saving for her had been taken by the rude red head from earlier. Shrugging, she plopped down next to Kairi who had her nose stuck in what appeared to be a Shakespeare novel. 

Meanwhile, Roxas and this mysterious red head were in the midst of another argument. 

"Hi there, nice to see you again." The red head was so bold to say, now having the gall to flash a smile in Roxas' direction. The blonde wanted to gag.

Instead Roxas opted for a classic glare, after all he had been saving the seat for Namine who was now forced to sit next to Kairi who in the late afternoon could otherwise be referred to as boredom city. 

"What do you want?" He questioned crossly, still glaring at the accused pedophile. The red head's smile turned into a frown, or perhaps it could be called a pout. A much more suitable expression. 

"I was just looking for friends. I'm Axel." So this red head had a name? Roxas turned his gaze once more to 'Axel' who was now extending his hand towards him as if he wanted to shake. 

Roxas opened his mouth to introduce himself, hoping that maybe it would get the red head to leave him alone. In the long run, he opted for a better idea. 

"Fuck off." He grunted, turning now to glare at the back of the seat in front of him which was occupied by a smelly Sophomore who obviously had gym last period and a Freshman who smelled of cheap perfume and didn't seem to want to keep her mouth shut. 

"Nice to meet you Fuck Off. That's a lovely name. What is it? English? Hebrew?" He didn't know when to quit, did he? Finally having enough, Roxas' curled his fist into a ball and before Axel could blink it came in contact with his nose. 

With a cry of distress and pain, Roxas saw Axel covering his nose. 

"Holy shit you punched me!" 

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, now fuck off. My father's a lawyer." It was Axel's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, well mine's the principle. Don't do that again. Got it memorized?" 

Roxas nearly spluttered out an 'I'm sorry' as he heard that, hoping that Axel wouldn't get him in trouble. But instead he decided to look away with another scoff. Axel was probably lying, he seemed like the kind who would do stuff like that to get attention. 

In the end, Roxas new one thing for sure. If the year continued like this it was going to be a really long year. 


	3. 2: Axel

**Chapter Two: Axel**

Roxas didn't show up for the rest of the week, which was kind of a bummer to Axel on account of he had no one to bug. 

Axel did indeed take amusement out of annoying the blonde as he made obvious. At the same time though, he found Roxas to be someone he could relate to.

In Roxas' absence, Axel had managed to talk to his friend Namine. She would without realizing it release information about Roxas to Axel's advantage. 

By the time Roxas returned, Axel had learned that the blonde was what some one could call an emo or scene kid. Luckily, it didn't seem like the blonde bothered to cut. 

It was the next Monday when Axel once more spotted Roxas at the bus stop, large circles had formed beneath his cerulean eyes and he seemed drained. Every few seconds he would stop to sneeze into his hand. 

"Poor Roxy seems to be the victim of the flu!" Axel said as he approached the blonde. He was immediately greeted by the glare he had gotten so familiar with during their encounter the first day of school.

"Didn't I tell you to fuck off?" Roxas spat. Axel sighed, shaking his head so that a few locks of his red hair fell into his face. 

"Roxy, I never really cared much for directions. Got it memorized?" Axel pointed nonchalantly to his forehead, smirking as he said this. He watched Roxas' expression undergo it's usual change from mad to fuming. 

"Don't call me Roxy!" The blonde hissed, and despite his anger he looked surprisingly cute. As he had done on the first day, Axel patted Roxas' spiked hair. 

"Now Blondie, no need to be so rude." 

Retracting his hand, and returning it to the pocket of his slacks Axel then stalked off before Roxas burned him to death with the fire that now lingered in his eyes. 

The bus arrived at it's usual time, and everyone was transported to school for another wonderful day. 

The day had gone slower than a sea of melted gremlins, completely opposite to the first day. Sitting in last period, Axel frantically tapped his notebook with the tip of his pen. The page was surprisingly blank when it was supposed to be filled with notes on World War II. Finally the bell rang and Axel gathered up everything as he usually did, running out of the classroom so he could claim his seat by Roxas. 

Stepping onto the bus, Axel practically waltzed down the aisle, sliding beside Roxas with his usual nonchalant 'thank god it's the afternoon smile.'

"Did you have a good day Blondie," He questioned. "Miss me?" Axel could of swore he heard a scoff. 

"Yeah right." Roxas again appeared to be burning a hole in the back of the seat with his eyes. 

Axel leaned back in his seat, sliding down so that his back was arched a little ways. His position seemed uncomfortable, yet it was all the same for Axel. Roxas didn't bother to look over, but he instead kept his eyes glued to the seat in front of him. 

Axel opened his mouth, preparing to make a pathetic attempt at conversation. "So you had the flu?" He questioned, trying to clarify why Roxas had been gone for the past week. 

"Yeah, and your just making it worse." Roxas griped. "Leave me alone." "What if I don't want to? Roxas, what did I ever do to make you hate me?" 

"I don't know, you stared at me on the first day. You completely raised my creepy level to rates that it's never reached before. Need I say more?" 

"Yes please, you're an interesting person Roxy." Axel replied dumbly. 

Roxas groaned, moving his hands over his neck as if it would hide him from the gaze of the prying red head. "Save me god!" He moaned. 

"God isn't going to help you here Roxy, after all he is telling you to talk to me. He wants us to be friends." Axel continuously teased. 

Roxas looked up to glare at Axel. "Do you want me to punch you again?" Axel chuckled, wagging his finger back and forth. "Not a good idea Roxy. My father, the principle. Remember?" 

Roxas was near yanking his hair out of his scalp. He was near smashing his head on the window to the point that he passed out and never woke up. Axel simply did not know how to take a hint. 

"Roxy-- are you okay?" Axel questioned, leaning towards the blonde.

Roxas tried to slap him away. "Fuck off. I'm mad at you." Axel shook his head, so that his hair fell into his face. "No I don't mean that, you look kind of pale." He pointed out. 

Roxas made no move to reply, instead his hands were threaded in his hair as he breathing slowed. It leveled as the blonde's head tilted to the side, hitting the window.

Lifting his hand, Axel pressed it to the blonde's forehead. Roxas was hot to the touch, clammy, and he looked helpless. 

The bus halted at their bus stop, and Axel glanced over his shoulder to see that Roxas' friends were already filing off the bus. "Damnit Roxas." Axel grunted, sliding his hands beneath the blonde's prone form so as to carry him off the bus. 


	4. 2: Roxas

**Chapter Two: Roxas**

After that tragic first day Roxas didn't want to deal with anymore.

To make things worse, as he scrambled into the house he discovered that his parents were absent. He dropped his keys on the counter, hearing the clatter of metal to marble. When he did this, the impact of the keys on the counter caused the folded piece of paper to flutter to the floor.

Crouching down, Roxas retrieved the note and read through it quickly. His mothers hurried cursive dotted the sheet, some spots blotched as apparently she was using a broken pen.

'Dear Roxas,Your father and I have decided to go out for our anniversary. There is stuff to make sandwiches in the fridge. Feel free to invite some friends over, but not over four, and make sure they're out by ten. You've got to get some rest for high school.

Love you,

Mother'

Roxas wrinkled his nose at his mother's visible stupidity. Of course she knew he'd find something for dinner, and she also knew that he'd only invite Namine, and Sora over. He would have invited Kairi, but he had learned more times than once in middle school that in the evening she was usually too concerned with homework. It was hard to believe that back in sixth grade, the red head could have hardly cared less.

As the sun dropped behind the trees in the backyard, and the day wore into night Roxas took the time to eat and then call Namine and Sora. Sora couldn't come because his grandmother was in the hospital, but within five minutes Namine was entering the house with a bag of movies she intended for Roxas and her to watch that night.

Roxas gave her a spectacle look. "Jesus Namine, we can't watch that many movies in one night." He gaped. Namine rolled her eyes.

"Of course not." She grumbled. "I'm leaving some here for you." She set the American Eagle Bag, which contained all the movies, down on the floor and produced one from the top of the stack. Roxas knew it to be an old eighties flick that Namine had been blabbering on about for weeks now. It reeked of chick flick.

"Sixteen Candles? Namine, you can't be serious."

Roxas found out that the blond was all too serious, and within five minutes Roxas had been wrestled to the couch and was watching as Long Duck Dong invaded America. Luckily, Roxas had managed to fall asleep before Jenny had started to take pills to deal with her period.

A few hours later, Roxas was being shaken awake by a worried blond.

"Roxas." Namine hissed repeatedly until Roxas groggily opened his eyes. He took notice to the fact that he was leaning against Namines exposed shoulder, but really didn't give a care as he felt his stomach lurch.

"Roxas, are you okay? You feel hot?"

And that's how it started, Roxas spent the rest of the week with food poisoning which he'd contracted from the ramen he'd eaten for dinner. This left his immune system weakened and sometime around Saturday he also started getting symptoms of the Flu.

Now, according to his mother the flu was nothing to miss school over. Especially not high school. So once Roxas was no longer heaving into the toilet every few seconds he found himself standing at the bus stop on a particularly chilly morning not feeling all too well.

And things always had to get worse for Roxas it seemed. Sneezing into his hand Roxas looked up to see the lanky form of a particular red head that he didn't favor in the big picture of things.

"Poor Roxy seems to be the victim of the flu!" Axel so plainly pointed out, giving Roxas a sympathetic but at the same time amused expression that Roxas despised.

With a groan, Roxas propped himself up so he could glare at the red head. "Didn't I tell you to fuck off?" He spat in frustration. Roxas momentarily stopped to sneeze again, he heard a sigh escape the lips of the red head.

"Roxy, I never cared much for directions. Got it memorized?" Axel questioned. That annoying line. Got it memorized? What kind of fucking idiot thought something like that up. And oh how Roxas hated the way the red head said his name!

"Don't. Call. Me. Roxy." He fumed in frustration, tightening his grip on his jeans.

"Now Blondie, don't be so rude." Was Axel's next statement. Roxas didn't exactly favor that pet name either. Actually, at the moment he just kind of wanted to bite Axel's head off. Then maybe he wouldn't be able to bother him anymore. Because he'd be dead. Roxas then felt a hand on his hair, which he almost swatted away but was too busy sneezing again.

The hand was removed, lucky for Axel. Roxas heard footsteps as the red head left, and then a rumbling indicating that the bus was there.

"Thank God." Roxas muttered, which seemed to be his favorite statement as of late.

The day was hopelessly slow, beyond slow.

Alas, the bell rang to Roxas' relief and he sank down in his chair before collecting his things. As he stood up, the room spun briefly. Too relieved to be out of class however, Roxas dragged himself out of the classroom to the bus loop. He plopped into his seat, and almost immediately felt a weight beside him.

He already knew it was Axel without even bothering to look over. Roxas noticed that Axel was smiling. That was fine by Roxas as long as he didn't--

"Did you have a good afternoon Blondie? Miss Me?"

--Talk. Roxas scoffed as he heard the question, thinking of a million responses.

"Yeah right." As usual, Roxas was glaring at the seat as his surroundings started spinning again. He heard Axel sliding down in his seat but he didn't remove his gaze from where he was glaring. He felt sick as everything continued it's nonstop spinning.

"So you had the flu?" Axel finally asked.

"Yeah, and your just making it worse. Leave me alone." Roxas griped, fisting his hair, as a sign of exhaustion.

Sadly, Axel again did not get the message and continued twenty questioning the irritated blond.

"What if I don't want to? Roxas, whatever did I do to make you hate me?"

Roxas could come up with a million reasons.

"I don't know, you stared at me on the first day. You completely raised my creepy level to rates that it's never reached before. Need I say more?"

Again, Axel had to reply. Did he ever know when to stop? Roxas didn't exactly hear his statement however, the room spinning too much for him to care.

"Save me god!" He whined. Apparently Axel thought he was talking about him because the red head again continued bantering on and talking.

"God isn't going to help you here Roxy, after all he is telling you to talk to me. He wants us to be friends." He teased.

Roxas' cold glare was again focused on Axel. He seemed to really enjoy that expression lately.

"Do you want me to punch you again?"

He heard Axel chuckle, as he started wagging his finger like a mother punishing her child.

""Not a good idea Roxy. My father, the principle. Remember?"

There was that pet name again. Roxas was tempted to end his consciousness, not because of Axel, but because of the spinning. His gaze traveled to look at the window tempted to bash his forehead against it.

"Roxy-- are you okay?" Axel questioned. Roxas heard the rustle of movement as Axel leaned closer to him.

"Fuck off, I'm mad at you." He could hear Axel shaking his head.

"No I don't mean that, you look kind of pale."

Roxas opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a choked sound. Shutting his eyes, he felt his head come in contact with the glass of the window. Everything went black. The only thing he could recall was Axel exclaiming 'dammit.' Roxas could feel himself being lifted and then he was out.


	5. 3: Axel

**Chapter Three: Axel**

It had been nearly three days since the incident on the bus, Axel looked at the door, and then to the papers in his hands. Should he do it?

Axel couldn't believe he had gotten himself into his. He had been sitting on the bus, listening to his ipod as he usually did in the afternoon when Namine approached him. She had blatantly explained to Axel that she was supposed to drop Roxas' homework off to him but she couldn't do it because of her martial arts lessons. And Axel had volunteered to bring the thick stack of papers to the sick blonde.

How stupid could he possibly get? Axel was lucky to have made it to the house unscathed, having forgotten where it was and been nearly attacked by a dog or two. And he knew Roxas would certainly not want to see him. He had made it a point to ignore the urges to make sure the blonde was okay. After all, he had found out what was up with Roxas by talking to Namine.

Apparently Roxas had contracted some minor case of pnemonia, thus causing the black out effect.

Biting his lip, Axel rung the doorbell and waited. The door was opened after a few seconds, and Axel was greeted by a tall blonde woman who didn't look a day over 20. Roxas' sister maybe?

"Uh...hello." Axel stammered. "I came to uh--"

"Namine said you'd be dropping by. She called only a few minutes ago. Come on in."

Axel blinked, before slipping the papers back into his bag. He would just give them to Roxas personally. The woman didn't look like she had the brain capacity to accomplish a small task such as delivering homework.

Axel entered the room that Roxas' sister, mom, relative had indicated. He noticed Roxas right of the bat. The blonde sat in bed, blue eyes staring into the depths of the tv as if something else was going to appear on it instead of just the movie he was watching. That was, until Axel entered.

"What do you want?" Roxas questioned shooting one of his famed glares at the red headed teenager.

"Now, Roxy don't be like that. I'm the one who carried you off the bus a few days ago. I should at least get a thank you."

Roxas scoffed. "What do you want?" He then repeated. This was when Axel produced the envelope full of papers from his bag.

"I'm bringing you your homework, your welcome." He muttered, dropping it on the bedside table.

"..."

"You don't have to respond." Axel muttered, slinging his bag back over his shoulder. "I guess I'm going to do you a favour now and leave." Taking a step towards the door, Axel rolled his eyes preparing to make his way out.

"Axel wait!"

'What the...?' Axel turned on his heel, giving Roxas a questioning look. "Hmm?"

Roxas looked down at his knees, before returning his gaze to Axel. "Thanks for...carrying me off the bus."

A grin lit up Axel's face. "No problem Roxy!" Axel ruffled Roxas' hair, before making his grand exit.


	6. 3: Roxas

**Chapter Three: Roxas**

The last three days had been hell. It turned out, Roxas didn't really have the flu. Nope. It was pnemonia. Now he was confined to his bed longer than expected. Many kids would be overjoyed, that meant no school. Roxas didn't find this as great as many, however. Being sick didn't mean missing school and loads of fun, it meant confinement to his bed and having no company spare the television. Real fun.

That's why Roxas never made any attempts at skipping. At this point in time, there was only ONE upside to being sick. Not having the need to see a certain annoying ass red head every waking moment of his life.

Roxas adjusted his position, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the t.v. He wished his mother was like other parents and would at least let him move around. Footsteps alerted Roxas to someone's arrival. His mother had told him Namine was having someone drop his homework off. He figured it would more than likely be Sora.

Catching sight of red hair Roxas groaned. Roxas' glare immediately switched to the intruder.

"What do you want?" The blonde asked sourly. There could be no possible reason why Axel would want to be there, unless...NO Namine didn't.

It was obvious now, that Namine had hired Axel to bring Roxas' homework.

Despite how Axel had helped him, Roxas' hate still burned strong for the teenager. Was Namine trying to kill him or something? Axel reached into his bag, pulling out a manilla envelope. Roxas hoped he was just going to leave the homework, and go.

"I'm bringing you your homework, your welcome." Axel plainly stated, as the manilla envelope fell onto the bedside table with a soft thump.

"..." Roxas had, no response for this.

"You don't have to respond." Roxas watched as Axel returned his bag to his shoulder. He looked as if he was about to leave, and sure enough he made his way to the door. "I'm going to do you a favor now and leave."

"Axel wait!" The statement had been blurted out before Roxas could even think. He knew he had to say something to the red head, first he'd helped him and now he was bringing him his homework. Oh how stupid could Roxas get? He had always been the ungreatful one he had no idea how to thank Axel.

Axel looked slightly confused as he returned his gaze to the blonde. "Hmmm?"

Roxas took a moment to collect his thoughts on what to say, hoping that he'd sound sincere. Finally he stared Axel in the face. "Thanks for...carrying me off the bus." Sincere Roxas' left shoe. He sounded like a school girl at her first prom. Roxas was relieved however when the typical grin lit up Axel's face. Here comes the nickname.

"No problem Roxy!" He exclaimed. Roxas again felt a hand ruffling his hair, and then the red head was gone. Gods Roxas hoped he was cured soon.


	7. Transition

**Chapter Four: Transition **

The rest of the year could be what one could call chaotic. Plenty of things happened to change everyone. Roxas was cured of his pnemonia by the end of the week and returned to school. And the rest of the school year was history. Summer was upon everyone with it's blazing heat in the blink of an eye.

Roxas had spent most of his time indoors, playing video games. He hadn't been a favourite of the heat. Plus he had no one to spend his time with as Namine, Sora, and even Kairi were on vacation. A few times in the summer months, Roxas had invited Axel over bringing them to an accquaintance level. Roxas figured he owed Axel after what happened on the bus.

By the end of the summer when everyone was preparing for the next school year, Axel was one of Roxas' closer friends. But he was still one of the annoying sorts. He still in a way fit into the group perfectly. Making it seem as if they had been missing something.

The summer ended with a hardly noticeable bang. They had done the usual. Prepared for the new school year. The discussion of what classes they would get was thick.

Axel had managed to fail his junior year with flying colours.

The school year started, and everything returned to relative normalness. Axel was officially welcomed into Roxas' group of friends.

Christmas had been about the most eventful part of that whole year. They had all gone to some tropical island together. Except for Kairi.

Summer came quickly again, and Roxas and Axel were left alone. They took this time to help Axel out with his situation. Yes, the red head had failed AGAIN. Roxas had met bologna that was smarter than Axel.

Now as summers always do, this one passed quickly. Between tutoring Axel, and playing video games there wasn't much to remember about it.

And then school came again.

Same. Old. Song. And. Dance.


	8. Part II 1: Roxas

**Chapter One: Roxas**

It was amazing how fast time seemed to progress, it was even more amazing how quickly everyone seemed to change. Roxas now found himself preparing for his Junior Year in highschool, something that was simply amazing. It seemed as if it was only yesterday that he was in his Freshman year, the Freshman year during which time he'd been carried off the bus by a particular red haired pyro.

Currently, Roxas lay sprawled across his bed. His blue eyes were trained on the alarm clock sitting hazardously near the edge of the bed side table, the thick red numbers indicated that it was almost time to head out to the the bus stop. Almost time. He hadn't seen Axel in the past two weeks, he'd left to attend a funeral with his family and Roxas was left alone with his video games.

It was awfully surprising, that Roxas had longed for Axel so much after he'd left. Only two years before hand Roxas could distinctly recall telling the red head that he hated him. Another minute ticked by, what had it been, five minutes? And hour?

Roxas had gotten up earlier than necessary, in twenty minutes he'd gone about all his morning routines and then had been left with nothing else to do. Tracing small patterns into the sheets of his unmade bed with a finger, he jumped when the alarm finally went off once more alerting him, telling him that it was time to head to the bus stop. _Finally._

Sliding off his bed like silly putty, Roxas landed on his feet in an almost tired manner; despite the fact that he was as wake as he would ever be. Snatching his school bag from his desk, he slung it over his shoulder and collided with his father on the way out. Wasting only a little time to apologize, Roxas took the stairs two at a time.

Of course, the blonde wasn't excited about just Axel. He got to see Kairi, Namine, Sora, and..Axel. Over the summer months, the two had become best friends. They had made a connection like no other, making their difficult start rather confusing and insignificant in Roxas' point of view.

Moving from a power walk into a jog, he cut through the neighbor's yard arriving at the main highway. Treking across the thick street, avoiding all chances of getting run over by careless drivers he arrived at the bus stop. The same as it always was. Bleak, empty, save for a stop sign and a bus covered with so much gum it was impossible to sit on. Roxas was of course early, the only one who was there was Namine. She sat hunched against the stop sign, her nose in a book. Of course.

Moving across the sidewalk, Roxas settled down beside the girl.

"Namine." He commented. He watched as the snowy haired blond jumped, indicating that Roxas had successfully scared her shitless. With a small, lackadaisical laugh Roxas quirked an eyebrow. "Did I scare you?" He then inquired.

Namine shut her novel, nodding a little embarrassed at the simple thought of being scared by Roxas. Deciding to drop the topic, as she didn't want her cheeks to turn any darker than they already were she changed the subject to one that wasn't quite as embarrassing. "Your early." She commented.

This statement, which coming from Namine was more of a question was answered almost immediately. "Yeah, I was excited about seeing everyone;" Roxas declared with a large grin similar to the one they usually saw their friend Sora wearing. Namine nodded in a knowing manner.

"You missed Axel, didn't you?" She asked, having heard about how Axel had been gone for the last two weeks of summer. Roxas' cheeks immediately went pale, afterwards the pallor was replaced by a blush. Namine's tinkling laugh emitted itself from between her lips. "I knew it."

Namine always did have a way of knowing things, it was almost creepy sometimes. "I didn't miss him _that_ much." Roxas murmured crossly, although he was secretly elated with the thought of seeing the red head again. Namine of course new better, and commented with a, "Yeah. Right."

A voice then interuppted the conversation between the two friends.

"What, blondie you didn't miss me? Well...that's rude." A loud and quite energetic voice joked in a teasing manner. Axel then joined the two, settling down as close to Roxas as one could possibly get. This once more caused the blonde to blush, and Axel and Namine both broke out into fits of uncontrolled laughter.

"I said I didn't miss you _that_ much. One can only deal with so much of you, Axel." Roxas lied once more. Namine again repeated her comment from before. "Yeah. Right." It seemed that she knew something Roxas didn't, but of course that was Namine for you.

"So...blondie, what did you do without me hmm?" Axel inquired. He craned his neck slightly so he could get a better view of Roxas' face. He noticed then that Roxas had matured over the summer. It hadn't occured to him at first, on account of they'd practically spent every day of the summer together. Roxas' had grown taller, and was now almost to Axel's shoulder. Of course he would never be as tall as the red head was, it was simply impossible. His blonde hair was longer, spiked as he usually kept it, but it fell into his eyes more than it had before. Indeed, Roxas had matured.

As for Axel? He still had the crazy hair that everyone seemed to enjoy staring at, the same figure, voice, appearance. The only thing was different was...

"Axel, what are those?" Namine asked indicating the two shapes that rested on the skin beneath Axel's eyes. This drew Roxas' attention to them as well. Two small triangles, plain as day were now tattooed there. Axel indicated the marks, green eyes widening in sudden shock. He then took the chance to explain.

"Well, I got tattoos. They don't look bad , do they?" He inquired. Roxas shook his head, Namine following suit.

"I think they fit him." A voice said, and another member of their party had joined them. This time it was Kairi, her red hair fell to about mid back in a long braid. It was difficult to tell, weather or not her skirt had gotten shorter or she'd gotten taller. It was probably a little bit of both. Kairi had always been the one who changed the most out of all of them, she was gradually adjusting to have a cheerleaders personality. Quite different from Sora's, who was her arm candy at the moment. Speaking of which...

"Where is Sora?" Namine and Roxas asked at the same time. Axel didn't bother with the question, as he was too busy catching up on some last minute sleep. Kairi shrugged.

"I dunno. The last I saw him he was with Ri--ku.." Kairi trailed off. "Awww dammnit, he'd better not be skipping on the first day. Stomping back in the direction of the neighborhood, it was obvious that Kairi was going to retrieve her distracted boyfriend.

"Wow..." Roxas commented in slight shock.

"Agreed." Was the reply the blonde got from both Namine, as well as Axel who had now woken up.

Fifteen minutes later, just as the bus was rounding the corner for the first time that year Kairi was spotted dragging a particularly messy looking Sora behind her. The squeaking sounds of breaks caused students to scramble, gathering their books and bags that were required for school. One after the other, students filed onto the bus. Roxas' feet simultaneously made their way to the usual seat, the one he'd always sat in. And as usual, Axel sat next to him. The buds were already shoved in the red heads ears, just as it usually was. Roxas felt content, sinking down in his seat as the last student made their way onto the bus. The doors closed, and the death trap rolled down the street picking up speed as it transported the students to school.

**+--+--+--+--+--+--+**

The first day of school went as normally as it possibly could have, as it usually was the only class Roxas had with Namine, Sora, and Kairi was lunch and gym. However, he had math with Axel near the end of the day. He'd gotten the same teacher Axel had the year before, and Roxas could tell that the women didn't seem to favor the red head. This was easy to decipher, judging by the way the woman looked at the red head who'd already been caught sleeping, and texting on the first day. Thankfully, the old hag hadn't discovered that it was Roxas who Axel had been messaging. Apparently she didn't bother to check inboxes when she confiscated cellphones, because Roxas had been holding his cellphone in plane sight when the whole situation occurred.

If the first day had gone fast enough, the first week went even faster, followed by the first month. By this point, the whole student body was once more adjusted to the school system.

It was morning once more, the weather was just beginning to transition from hot to cold. The chill nipped at Roxas' skin as he made his way from the house. It was sprinkling, so Roxas pulled the hood of his jacket over his hair. Adjusting his bag to a more comfortable angle, he shuffled down the driveway sneakers soon coming in contact with the road that was practically falling apart beneath his feet.

By the time he arrived at the bus stop, the sky was crying. Students were huddled together beneath the small awning that blocked the gum covered bench from the saturation, Roxas was soaked. Spotting Axel, who was occupying a good part of the awning Roxas picked his way through the crowd eventually standing beside him. "Hello." He said, his greeting surprisingly cheery despite how cold he was. Axel returned the grin, pushing Roxas back a little ways as if to protect him from the rain.

Apparently, Axel could still remember the issue from so long ago. How Roxas easily got sick and such. The red head, obviously didn't want to carry the boy home again. Muttering his thanks, Roxas peered through the translucent glass that was the back of the wall supporting the awning, observing the highway as he waited for the bus in it's familiar yellow glory to roll around the corner. Fifteen minutes later, the for once welcoming vehicle did exactly as Roxas had hoped.

Spraying water onto smaller cars, it spluttered to a stop. The doors opened, and unlike they usually did students made a mad dash for the rusting scrap of metal. A few slipped on the stairs as they struggled to get on board. Roxas managed a laugh, shielding his face as he too jogged towards the bus. Settling down in his seat, he waited for Axel to plop down beside him. No such luck.

"Hey Axel, back here!" An energetic voice called. The red head passed right by the seat Roxas was occupying. Turning his head, Roxas glared daggers at the blonde occupying the seat at the back of the bus. He was known by many as Demyx. The star of the swim team, and one of Axel's newest friends. This was the first time Axel had ditched Roxas for that prick, and Demyx had been asking the pyro to sit next to him for weeks on end.

Glaring at his feet, which were currently kicking the seat in front of him he muttered curses to himself, wishing Demyx into eternal damnation. Feeling the seat beside him becoming occupied, he glanced up to find Namine.

"You okay?" She inquired, apparently a little bit worried about her friend who was acting like he wanted to curse the living life out of whoever was bothering him. Even though the answer was a no, Roxas forced himself to nod.

"Yeah I'm fine." He muttered, trying to sound as sincere as possible. He figured it would have sounded a bit ridiculous if he told Namine that he was mad because Axel hadn't sat with him that one day. It was childish. It wasn't like it was the end of the world.

Namine, of course, could tell that Roxas was lying. But she decided to ignore this. If he wanted to tell her what was wrong, he would.

Hearing the loud conversation of Demyx and Axel all the way at the front of the bus, Roxas slunk further down into his seat. "Damn you." He muttered.

"What was that?" Namine inquired, her blue eyes widening as she was slightly surprised at the sudden comment. Roxas shook his head.

"Oh nothing." He still refused to tell her, after all there was no big deal. It was one day. Axel would sit next to him tomorrow, of course he would.

**+--+--+--+--+--+--+**

Roxas had been wrong, Axel did not sit next to him the day afterwards. Or the day after that, or the day after that. Instead, the red heads time was suddenly occupied by Demyx. So much that Axel was now refusing to come over to Roxas' after school to play video games, instead he got the same reply every single day.

"Nope, sorry, I'm going over to Demyx's. Maybe tomorrow Blondie."

It eventually got to the point that he stopped calling him Blondie, it switched to Rox, then Roxas, then he just plain stopped saying a name all together. It seemed as if Axel had forgotten Roxas, sure they sat next to each other at lunch, and they talked in the morning, but after that it was an 100 percent forcast of Demyx, all Demyx all the time. Roxas would admit he was getting annoyed with the sudden progress of Axel and Demyx's friendship.

It was now late November, the weather had dropped dramatically. Roxas now found himself having to wear countless layers to school to avoid freezing, he did not want to experience any situation involving pneumonia after all. Arriving at the bus stop with barely any time to spare, he immediately noticed that Axel was no where in sight.

A little disappointed, he settled down on the frosted sidewalk besides Namine. Where he usually sat. Her nose was once more tucked into a book, and he couldn't help but sigh. Kairi and Sora were arguing once more, near a wilting tree that stood off in the distance. No matter how much effort they put into keeping their quarrel un-heard, their words echoed across the cold air.

They'd been arguing a lot lately, it seemed to be all they did. Perhaps this was because Sora had been caught cheating on Kairi with _Riku_ of all people. Apparently, the boy was bi...or gay but too afraid to admit it. Sora now claimed it had been a one time thing, but as it hadn't been the first time he had been caught Kairi didn't seem to believe it. Who would?

Roxas could personally, never imagine himself gay, then again he'd never exactly been with anyone before. The only person he'd had any sort of relationship with had been Namine, and that had began and ended all in one week. Plus, it had occurred during their time in middle school so it didn't quite count.

Sora and Kairi's yelling died down eventually, this was when the bus arrived at it's stop right on time. Axel had not arrived, causing Roxas to wonder where he was. Sitting down next to Namine, their usual morning conversation began and ended as it usually did.

Roxas only had Trigonometry with Axel, if you didn't count lunch as a period. So Roxas had not seen the red head all day. He hadn't seen the red head all day, and he was beginning to thin that he was sick. That was until he was on his way to lunch.

He'd instinctively passed through the courtyard he met Axel in every afternoon, so they could go to lunch together. Even though he thought the red head wasn't there, it was too much of a routine to give up. That's when he realized that the red head was there that day.

He arrived in the courtyard, preparing to make his way across the empty space to the hallway that would spit him out by the cafeteria. Hearing a noise, he looked over to see Axel and Demyx intertwined against one of the rows of lockers. The two were eating face, obviously, and Roxas' blue eyes widened. Tears welled up in the large eyes, stinging at them. Covering his vision with his forearm, he turned in the opposite direction, deciding to take the longer path to the cafeteria.

He was sitting down at lunch, poking at the salad that Namine had purchased for him when someone finally spoke. "What's wrong?" Namine questioned, leaning towards Roxas. Her hand was resting on his shoulder at this point. And for once, Roxas felt as if she wouldn't give up. She was going to force him to admit his reasons for crying.

"Axel's here today." He commented, trying to keep it as simple as possible. He sniffled.

Namine nodded. "Yeah, he's in my first block." She added. Of course, Roxas had forgot they were both in the same French class.

"Well..." Roxas continued. "I saw him in the courtyard, and he was-- making out with Demyx." He felt the tears return at the simple thought of the situation he had wittnessed. He couldn't quite figure out why he was crying. He had just been thinking about it earlier, he wasn't gay. He should have been happy for Axel, he was being himself. Perhaps he was just lamenting over the fact that he probably would no longer have _any_ time with Axel at all.

Namine seemed to understand, once more looking as if she knew something about Roxas that Roxas didn't already know. "I see." She added. Another voice then spoke.

"What's up everybody?" The red head inquired, sounding calm and collected as he took his usual seat next to Roxas. He heard Roxas sniffle, and he gave him a weird look. "What's wrong with him?"

Roxas couldn't take it anymore, he lifted himself from the lunch table and made his way to the bathroom as fast as he could possibly go without running. He was tired of it. If the friendship between him and Axel had to end, it had to end. And that would be that.

* * *

**My gosh you guys, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. But jeez, I managed to shove a lot in one chapter. This is about the longest chapter in the whole fanfiction. And how do you like the little twist? Right when you thought I was preparing to put Roxas and Axel together, I bring another guy into the picture. Yeah. Anyways, another chapter will come tonight, perhaps two if I'm feeling up to it. I'm having a writers surge so I need to get as much down as possible before I loose it. I hope you enjoy the upcoming parts of the story. And don't worry, Roxas and Axel will be together soon. I'm plotting on having another time skip or so. I need to get to their Senior year as fast as I can. That's when I'm going to make all the eventful stuff happen.  
**


	9. Part II 1: Axel

The summer months had been the highlight of his life, Axel having managed to get especially close to Roxy. He could now say that him and Roxas had reached best friend level – quite an amazing thing, considering that the blonde had spent oh so many months hating him, sending countless glares in his direction, wishing him dead. Well, that was just the way the cookie crumbled. Axel wished he could re live that entire summer over again, the process of getting to know Roxas better. Finding out that Roxas' favorite movie was Fight Club (it was admittedly Axel's favorite movie as well), and going bowling with Roxas – which had turned out to be a comical adventure, Roxas slipping and sliding down one of the lanes – knocking down more pins than his ball did. Well, Axel would have chosen to re live the entire summer except for the last two weeks of course. The last two weeks that involved attending a funeral. There were few things that Axel hated in the world, one of them being funerals.

Standing before the bathroom mirror, Axel continued to move thin fingers through his hair – waxing his hair to perfection, to the point that it stood up in it's usual fashion. He was still occupying the bathroom, struggling to make sure his tattoos weren't infected when his younger sister – a Freshman this year struggled to push her way into the bathroom.

"AXELLLLL!!!" Yuffie cried loudly, trying to nudge her way into the bathroom – to no avail of course, considering she just fell backwards on her rear end, left to stare up at her older brother who was smirking by this point, still gladly occupying the mirror.

Rising from the floor, Yuffie stomped her foot on the floor, hands resting on her hips. "I need the bathroom," She demanded -- "Get out."

Axel shook his head, answering her with a simple no. "I got here first, I'm staying." He announced, deliberately starting to move slower than he had before to force her to wait longer for him to leave the bathroom. Yuffie looked frustrated, and again she ran at him – trying to knock him out of the way of the mirror. Axel of course pushed her out of the way, and back onto the floor.

Yuffie pouted, sitting up again as she dusted off her clothes. She just didn't give up, did she?

"Axelll, that's no way to treat a lady. . . ." She whined, trying to play the 'I'm an innocent little girl card' on him. That card had stopped working when she turned five.

Scoffing, Axel rolled bright green eyes. "Ah, but I'm not treating a lady – I'm treating . . . . you." He concluded, knocking her out of the way with a small oof afterwards resuming prepping himself for school once more. Yuffie could be heard stomping repeatedly on the floor, about to throw a fit.

"I'm telling mom!" She declared. Right as Yuffie disappeared down the hallway, Axel was finished getting ready. Shutting off the bathroom light he started off down the hallway, exiting his room with his bag as his mother shouted up the stairs.

"Axel! Let your sister into the bathroom." His mother advised, Axel stood at the top of the staircase, shrugging large shoulders.

"What? I'm done. . ." He trailed off, pursing his lips as he took the stairs two at a time. He stopped next to Yuffie briefly, taking enough time to call her a brat before making his way outside, on his way to the bus stop. He was looking forward to seeing hiss--- well, Roxas. He was looking forward to seeing Roxas.

The walk to the bus stop was short, Axel's house being particularly close to where they all waited for the bus. Standing there at this very moment were Roxas and Namine, discussing something that was – apparently of interest. As Axel neared the two, he caught clips of their conversation.

"I didn't miss him _that_ much." Axel heard the blonde remark, and he couldn't help but roll his green eyes at the comment. Time to play the role of the usual sarcastic Axel that he was.

"What, blondie – you didn't miss me?" Axel questioned – sounding almost hurt at the fact that Roxas had declared he hadn't missed him over the past two weeks. Axel had certainly missed Roxas, not that he was ever admit to that. "Well . . . . that's rude," Axel finally concluded. Of course it was obvious that Axel was only teasing Roxas. Making himself comfortable next to Roxas, the red head smiled – although he didn't have anything in particular to smile about, other than the fact that he was well. . . . . sitting next to Roxas.

It was then that Roxas finally spoke up, defending himself from Axel's teasing that had occurred a few seconds earlier. "I said I didn't miss you _that_ much. One can only deal with so much of you, Axel."

Like that made things any better. Well, Axel wasn't really mad at Roxas, he knew the blonde had secretly missed him – even if he didn't want to admit it.

"So...blondie, what did you do without me hmm?" Axel inquired, craning his neck ever so slightly to eye the blonde beside him with bright green eyes. He noted that Roxas had changed, matured – gotten, cuter than he'd been at the start of the summer. Axel hadn't changed much, Axel knew that – he was still the same old Axel. Well. . . . besides the fact that-

"Axel, what are those?" He heard Namine ask, and Axel immediately noted that she was pointing to the two new additions to his face, the triangular tattoos beneath his eyes. Pointing carefully to the marks, which were still healing up a bit – he shrugged his shoulders a little, treating it as if it were no big deal.

"Well I got tattoos – they don't look bad, do they?" He inquired – falling silent for a bit as he waited for a response from his companions. When he gained their approval, he smiled. At least Roxas deemed them appropriate. Axel had already grown attached to that tattoos even though he'd only had them for a week and a half now, they made up his face – it seemed.

"I think they fit him," A voice declared – the voice of Kairi, who had finally made her arrival – without Sora in tow, he noted. Had they broken up already? It seemed as if they'd only gotten together a week ago. Well, two or three weeks give or take. Still, Axel was used to seeing Sora following Kairi around like a love sick puppy.

Roxas and Namine both voiced Axel's question, inquiring where Sora had ended up – at which point Kairi seemed to realize that she'd lost track of him. The other red head of the group rushed off, leaving Axel alone with Namine and Roxas once more. Not that Axel was disappointed, however, spending time with Roxas and Namine – especially the Roxas part of the equation, was quite nice.

Minor conversation passed between the group for the time being, eventually the bus pulled up at the stop – and the three of them moved onto the bus, assuming their usual seats. Glancing out the window past Roxas, Axel chuckled ever so slightly upon realizing that Sora was being dragged behind Kairi towards the bus. Sora had obviously been planning on skipping school, considering the condition of his clothes, not to mention the fact that his hair was half spiked half flat. He looked, well, ridiculous. When finally Sora and Kairi trailed onto the bus, the last students to arrive there – the bus pulled away from the stop, on it's way to the school.

MAGICAL TIME SKIPPY FROM THE PLANET OF MAGICAL GOODNESS ~

Time seemed to go too fast, really it did – that was at least what Axel thought. Already a month had passed of school, and he was once more adjusted to the schedule. With a new found determination Axel decided that he would pass Junior year this time around, so he could graduate with Roxas and go off to college with him and live happily ever after – that sounded ridiculous, but that's all Axel seemed to dream about. Yes, the great Axel had a soft spot for the blondie he spent a lot of his time tormenting. The weather had become cold, quite cold – to be specific. On this specific morning, it was raining, so Axel stood with the rest of the students that rode the bus – huddled beneath the safety of the awning as he struggled to keep warm. Axel's eyes would trail off in search of Roxas every now and again. He recalled the incident where Roxas had caught pneumonia in Roxas' freshman year, and Axel couldn't help but worry that they would relive that situation again.

When Roxas finally appeared, greeting him, Axel returned the smile that Roxas sent his way and then pushed Roxas into the crowd, to keep him warm and protect him from the rain. Axel was just that caring. Trying to spark conversation, Axel attempted to inform Roxas that he wouldn't be sitting with him today. Axel had, a mission – to say the least. For the past couple of weeks, Demyx had been asking Axel to sit with him. Axel didn't particularly understand why, but – he did, Axel of course always turned him down. Sitting with Roxas was by far a lot more interesting, a lot more relaxing than sitting next to the star of the schools swim team.

Yuffie, however, had caught wind of the fact that Demyx had been attempting to befriend Axel. Being as in love with Demyx as she was, she boldly demanded that Axel befriend Demyx, and find a way to bring him over for dinner or something – so she could meet her idol. Axel had even gone so far as to refuse her, his own little sister – then again, he always refused Yuffie – but that was besides the point. He'd gone so far as to refuse her so he could continue to sit next to Roxas, but Yuffie had gone and whined to his mother who demanded quite forcefully that Axel help Yuffie with her little crush. And thus, Axel took up Demyx's offer to sit next to him.

Axel had not managed to inform Roxas of this by time the bus pulled up, and so Axel followed the crowd of students onto the bus – hoping Roxas wouldn't be _too_ disappointed. As Axel stepped foot onto the bus, he looked at Roxas who was already sitting in his usual seat by the window – Axel's usual seat next to him reserved, and then the usual shout was heard over the chatter of students from the back of the bus, Demyx – of course.

"Hey Axel, back here!" Demyx called, and so – Axel passed by Roxas, trying his best not to look at the blonde. . . . he didn't want to see the look that Roxas gave him, plopping next to Demyx.

MAGICAL TIME SKIPPY FROM THE PLANET OF MAGICAL GOODNESS ~

The time Axel spent with Roxas was less and less, and it was quite disappointing. Befriending Demyx like Yuffie had demanded was so time consuming. Sit with Demyx in the morning, help Demyx fail English class, discuss sports – which Axel could have cared less about. If Axel had his choice in the matter, he would have plopped down next to Roxas on the bus every day and told his little sister to go stalk Demyx on her own damn time, but what his mother said – was what happened, and Yuffie had his mother and father wrapped around her little finger. God damn it.

Axel could tell that Roxas was slowly losing faith in their friendship, Axel always having to deny Roxas the time they usual spent together. It eventually got to the point that they talked briefly in the morning, during trigonometry class – and then besides that, no contact was made between them at all. It was disappointing because Axel so enjoyed his time he spent with Roxas. Axel would not have been surprised if Roxas never wanted to talk to him again, Axel having paid so little attention to Roxas over the past couple of days.

That day on the bus, Axel decided it was time to confess of Yuffie's crush to Demyx, and try to set up some form of a date – even though Demyx was a senior and Yuffie was a Freshman. Axel was growing tired of all the time he was forced to spend with the lug headed idiot known as Demyx. Before exiting the bus, Axel informed Demyx that he had something to tell him – announcing that he should meet him at so and so specific courtyard during the time in between third block and lunch, afterwards making his way to his first block class.

When lunch arrived, Axel found himself waiting for Demyx-- trying to decide how exactly he was going to word it without making his sister sound like a complete tard. If he tarnished Yuffie's nonexistant reputation as a total and complete stalker, well – Axel would be grounded for life. Axel was leaning against the locker, contemplating his words when Demyx arrived – and well, things went. . . . awkward from there.

Demyx, apparently having the wrong ideas about what Axel wanted to tell him, approached the red head leaning up against the lockers and pinned him there. Before Axel was given a reaction time, the blonde was struggling to play tonsil hockey with the red head, who eventually wrestled the blonde off. Spitting onto the ground, Axel wiped the back of his mouth with his hand. Ewwww. He'd been kissed by Demyx. He hoped idiot disease didn't rub off on him.

Demyx looked shocked, "What – what's wrong? Was I really that bad?" Demyx inquired.

The red head was tempted to roll his eyes at the stupidity of Demyx.

"Why the hell did you kiss me, are you stupid?" Axel suddenly demanded. Demyx blinked – stupidly. Putting him in charge of thinking about anything was like handing him a loaded gun, stupid.

"I – I thought you liked me, that's why you wanted to talk to me. . . . . righhhtt?" Demyx questioned, smiling hopefully. Axel shook his head.

"No, no, no, no, no. . . ." He paused, "My sister – Yuffie is the one that likes you. Ughhh." Axel reached upwards and rubbed his temples carefully. His sister was crushing on a complete idiot, and a gay one at that. Axel made a mental note to inform her of that.

Demyx suddenly shifted, looking quite awkward. "Oh well – um, she's nice and all it's just --"

Axel waved his hand nonchalantly, moving away from Demyx before he could pounce again. "Yeahhh I get it," He groaned, starting to move towards the cafeteria where hopefully Roxas would be waiting for him.

"Well, um – call me?" Demyx questioned – although Axel was departing from the courtyard by that point, wishing he'd brought mouth wash with him.

As Axel approached the usual lunch table in the cafeteria, he noted that something seemed wrong with the general atmosphere – and something even more wrong seemed wrong with Roxas in general. Was he sick again? Looking questionably at the group, he raised a thin red eyebrow.

"What's up everybody?" He questioned, trying to sound calm despite everything that happened today as he took his usual seat next to Roxas. Hearing Roxas sniffle, Axel assumed that he'd caught a cold – the flu – something, he never would have guessed that the blonde was crying.

"What's wrong with him?" Axel asked, looking at the others as a look of worry and confusion spread across the red head's already troubled face. Before he got a response, however – a crying Roxas was taking off in the direction of the bathroom, and Axel was receiving glares from every other occupant at the table. What had he done?

A little confused, and now aware of the fact that Roxas was crying, Axel pushed himself up off the table – moving towards the bathroom after Roxas. Whatever was going on, Axel had to straighten this out – immediately.

* * *

Yes my beautiful readers, I have updated this story -- finally . . . . . after a long time. . . . . a lonnnngggg time. Aren't you proud of me? Now, here's an explanation as to why I was gone for so long. . . . I had major personal issues, but now I'm back and I'll be updating this fanfiction as well as some new ones that I have in mind. If you can't tell my writing style has improved (it'll become more evident in the next few chapters which I'll be writing from scratch as opposed to already having something to go off of) and I've leveled up on my grammar skills! Hope you enjoyed this chapter everyone, I clarified exactly what was going on with Demyx -- and Axel has a sister. : D Yeah -- him and Yuffie don't exactly look alike but whatever. I wanted someone annoying and she fit the annoying card. So if you are an old reader, you know the drill -- read -- review, make my life worth living. If you are a new reader, it's time for you to learn the drill -- read -- review, buy me socks for my old ones are worn through. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter of 'I call him Blondie.'

So, will Axel be able to path up things with Roxas? Will Sora and Kairi stop fighting? Will Axel and Roxas ever get together? Is it REALLY not butter? Find out next time on 'I call Him Blondie.'


	10. Part II 2: Roxas

The only place it seemed that the blonde could take refuge now was the bathroom, the only place he could lock himself away and not have anyone bother him. Passing through the swinging door he entered one of the stalls, shutting the lid to the toilet and crouching down upon it, so that if anyone actually did enter the bathroom, which was unlikely considering the cafeteria bathrooms were like the black death, they wouldn't see him. Not to mention Roxas in his tear blinded sadness had not seemed to take note to the fact that he had wound up in the Ladies Bathroom.

Sniffling, Roxas frantically tried to rub tears from his face – the salty drops stinging at his face. He hated crying, he especially hated crying in front of people – but this was all too much to deal with. He had ever asked to have a crush on Axel, he had never asked to be mesmerized by the red head's every move – so why had he been so distraught seeing Axel kissing Demyx? He could kiss whoever he wanted – Roxas shouldn't have cared.

Oh, but Roxas did care. The moment he had come across Axel kissing Demyx, so many emotions had exploded within him. Anger, sadness, disappointment – a need to punch something, particularly the blonde haired swim team captain. Roxas still had all those emotions battling within him as he tried to make sense of what he was going to do about this. Severing all ties with Axel just seemed, against logic. Did it not? At the same time it seemed like the only logical option. If Axel was going to be with Demyx, he would obviously be with Demyx in front of everyone else – and if Roxas was going to feel this way about Axel being with Demyx, it was obvious he shouldn't hang around them.

Hearing the bathroom door swing open, Roxas made not a sound – instead he held is breath, and hoped to god whoever was in the bathroom would leave soon. He could hear the doors to the other stalls swinging open, and then the door to his stall rattled. The hinges were already loose, it seemed threatening to fall off it's hinges at any second. Biting his lip, Roxas was tempted to question who it was that was trying to break into the stall that he'd taken refuge in.

His question was soon answered as the green eyed red head he was currently in a state of confusion about spoke up.

"Roxy, what's wrong – you aren't sick are you?" Axel inquired.

". . . . . . . ." No response from Roxas, Axel didn't deserve one in his mind right now.

"Rox, I know you're in there. . . . tell me what's wrong." Axel demanded quickly.

"You're what's wrong --- everything about you is wrong. Our friendship is wrong and I just want to get rid of it, leave me the hell alone Axel. I don't want to see you anymore," Roxas declared. It hurt him to say those words, because Axel wasn't what was wrong. Well, Axel was wrong – but at the same time he was right. Did that make any sense?

Roxas could hear Axel sigh outside, the red head sounded almost saddened – despite his usual sarcastic attitude.

"If that's the way you feel – then fine, I'll leave you alone." Footsteps then indicated that Axel had departed from the bathroom, and Roxas was left alone. What to do now? Leaning his head against the wall of the bathroom, he groaned. Part of him wanted to run after Axel and apologize for being rude to him, but the other part of him wanted to stay in the bathroom and revel in his misery at the sudden loss of his best friend, the loss being all Roxas' fault of course.

The blonde spent the rest of the day in the bathroom, skipping his last two classes. Finally, when final bell rang – Roxas departed from the bathroom, retrieving his school stuff from his locker before pushing his way through the crowd to the bus. Clambering onto the machine that was the yellow death trap, he glanced around for a seat besides his usual one – as Axel was already occupying said seat. What, did he break up with Demyx? Or was he just trying to annoy Roxas?

Shuffling down the aisle, he didn't stop to look at any of his friends – especially Axel, who wasn't exactly a friend anymore, and as he neared the back of the bus Roxas sat down next to a slate haired male who Roxas knew answered to the name of Zexion. Roxas and Zexion were lab partners in Chem together, so Roxas figured Zexion wouldn't mind _that much_ if Roxas invaded the seat Zexion typically had all to himself.

Taking note to the fact that Zexion seemed shocked, as the small male was raising a thin eyebrow, Roxas made no remark and instead proceeded in crossing his arms and glaring at the back of his seat. He didn't want to take anybodies crap today. The bus shook as the driver brought the monster to life, and soon said metal deathtrap was traveling away from the school and towards the neighborhood that all the students on the bus occupied. Roxas was looking forward to arriving home, he wanted to be rid of certain red headed jerks at this moment.

MAGICAL TIME SKIPPY FROM THE PLANET OF MAGICAL GOODNESS ~

The next morning, Roxas arrived at the bus stop to discover that the yellow death trap had just departed. The bus stop was empty, and a cloud of smoke and a yellow blob in the distance indicated that he'd taken to long getting there. Groaning, Roxas shuffled back to his house in hopes of convincing his mother to drive him to school before she left for work.

Arriving home, Roxas briefly dropped his backpack onto the couch as he rounded the corner into the kitchen to find his mother yammering away on her cellphone as she struggled to shovel down a bowl of cereal.

"Yes, yes Mister Xemnas. Yes, yes – I'll take care of the situation immediately. No, no Mister Xemnas – the water system was not supposed to do that. Okay, okay, I'll talk to him – bye."

Observing as she shut the phone, Roxas rolled his eyes, the life of a real estate agent seemed so hectic.

"Umm, mom?" Roxas questioned quickly – trying not to laugh at her poor attempts at finishing breakfast quickly. Roxas' mom turned her blue eyed gaze on her son, who was the spitting image of her – same eyes, same hair color, the only quality he'd inherited from his father – it seemed, was his slightly tanned complexion, as his mother was as pale as a sheet. Then again the woman did tend to overwork herself.

"Roxas, is something wrong?" His mother inquired as she moved the now empty bowl of cereal into the sink where it would sit until somebody took the time to put it in the dishwasher. The pale blonde woman moved forward and set her hand on Roxas' forehead, "You don't seem sick." She clarified, and then she gave him a questioning look.

"No mom, I'm not sick – I overslept and missed the bus. Can you give me a ride to school?" Roxas inquired. His mother shook her head, patting Roxas' hair.

"No sweetie I can't give you a ride to school today, mommy's gotta go solve a problem with one of her clients. How about you call Cloud? I'm sure he'll be happy to drive over from college and give you a ride." She questioned. The woman treated him like he was five sometimes, explaining why Roxas brought his friends home when his parents weren't around.

Groaning, Roxas again resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _Call Cloud? _Yes, his older brother would be simply overjoyed to drive all the way from his dorm, where he was probably getting over a hangover, just to drive Roxas to school. As his mother kissed him goodbye, grabbing her purse from the counter – Roxas realized that unless he wanted to miss more school, he might just have to call his brother and beg for him to transport him to school. Lovely.

Roxas waited a few minutes, well – actually, he waited an hour and a half before calling Cloud. Sure, Roxas missed first block – but it was better than missing the entire school day.

Hearing the sounds of the phone being picked up, Roxas prepared himself to be yelled at – but instead the tired voice of his older brother spoke on the other end, as opposed to him yelling at Roxas.

"Roxas, what do you want?" Cloud questioned, sounding somewhat annoyed. Of course, who wouldn't be annoyed when there annoying younger sibling called them and woke them up early? Yeah, I thought so.

"Um, Cloud – I missed the bus today and mom told me to call you to get a ride to school." Roxas stated quickly, getting what he needed to say out before his brother had time to yell at him.

". . . . ." Silence on the other end, that couldn't have been a good thing.

"Cloud?" Roxas questioned softly.

"Fine, I'll be right over--" Was the response Roxas received, and then the line went dead. With a small satisfied smile, despite Roxas' already existing bad mood, he set the phone back where it belonged afterwards making sure his school stuff was still in tact.

It was twenty minutes before Roxas heard Cloud pull up into the drive way, leave it to his brother to take his sweet time – but at least Roxas was going to make it to school.

MAGICAL TIME SKIPPY FROM THE PLANET OF MAGICAL GOODNESS ~

Roxas arrived at school within the last half hour of third block, and entering his Chemistry class he immediately sat down next to Zexion, leaving their Chem teacher to continue his lecture. Zexion gave Roxas the same questioning expression he'd given him the day before on the bus, but said nothing. Zexion seldom ever said anything.

Chem class was boring, they learned about the atoms that made up certain elements, and when the bell finally rang everyone was happy to depart from the classroom with some of their sanity still in tow.

Roxas made his way to the cafeteria, assuming his usual seat at the table he shared with his friends, dropping his bag and his books onto the seat that Axel would occupy on normal days. This was not a normal day, and Axel was not welcomed here anymore. As his friends gathered at the table, Roxas tried to act normal – as normal as he could possibly manage. They were discussing the concert that Sora had attended last week with great energy, and Roxas was actually enjoying the conversation until --

"Hey Axel," Sora greeted obliviously – as if he'd completely forgotten Kairi's order to act as angry at Axel as possible. Sora was about to demand that Axel grab a seat when he received glares from all the tables occupants. Chuckling softly, Sora looked apologetically at Axel – who nodded, turning and making his way to sit with his sister and her group of friends. Perhaps the only other people who would welcome him to their table.

Deciding to change the subject, Namine began digging through her bag-- eventually producing a folded up sheet of paper from within her bag. She unfolded the paper and pushed it in front of Roxas' line of vision.

"Roxas, look at what they were handing out this morning. The school is offering a skiing trip to Seniors and Juniors. We should go," She suggested. Examining the poster, Roxas smiled, nodding at his group of friends.

"We should."

Roxas figured that would more than likely be his escape from Axel and the hell the red head was putting him through – Axel wouldn't have any friends to hang out with on the trip, hence he wouldn't go – and Roxas and company would have time to enjoy themselves. It was the perfect plan, or so it seemed.


End file.
